Cable connecter



which will lessen Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,535,111 PATENT OFFICE.

YISAIDOR-t. FULTON AND CHARLES A. BOUSTEAD, OF CRESAPS, WEST VIRGINIA.

CABLE CONNECTER.

Application ined March 27, 1923.

To all whomit may concern.'

Be it known that we, IsADoRn FULTON and /HAnLns A. BoUsTEAD, citizensot' the llnited States, residing at Cresaps` in the county of Marshalland State of lNest Virginie, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Cable Connecters, and we do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention` such aswill enable others skilled in the -art to which it appertains to makeand use the same. f

rlhis invention relates to a cable connecter.

lt is generally aimed to provide a means the danger and hazard to whichworkmen in coal mines and the like are daily subjected, such as fromdisplacenient, entanglement or short circuiting of the feed wires forthe mining machines, and to this end to provide a novel connecter whichmay be rapidly disconnected when desired, even when the workman is at adistance from the connecter. and a connecter embodying novel means.. forclamping the mining machine cable in place.

lThe additional objects and advantages will become apparent from aconsideration of the description following taken in connection withaccompanying drawings illustrating an operative embodiment.

Insaid drawings Figure 1 is a view of the connecter inside elevationpartly broken away;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken at a right angle toFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the connecter, and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in sectionof a modied form.

Like reference characters designate like or similar parts in thedill'erent views.

In carrying out the invention, a central ,stem is provided as at 10which may be made in one piece of brass or other suitable electricconducting material. The forward end of the stem 10 is reduced or fork11 in which conducting and attaching lingers 12, as of brass areremovably fastened through the medium of a bolt 13. Fingers 12 are thusformed-from a single resilient strip and are outwardly bowed as at 14 tofacilitate their attachment to an electric feed wire as suggested at A.The free etJ y bowed portions 14 are also "l as facilitate en coact tocontract the to form a bifurcation Serial No. 628,048.

wire into the bowed porlingers 12 are resilient and be quickly pulled soas to detach the fingers from the is adapted for `connection' to abranch feed wire or conducting cable 16 of the type which usually leadsto a mining machine. the cable 16 is cut oli for a short distance fromthe adjacent end of the cable so that an exposed portion may be insertedinto an enlarged socket 18 of the stem. Said socket 16 has one or moresplits asat contraction and expansion thereof. outer surface of thesocket 18 is or substantially conical as at 26.

The stem 10 is disposed in the bore of a cull or sleeve 21 of fiber orother insulation and has screw threaded connection with the sleeve as at22. The bore ot the sleeve is also enlarged or conical as at 23 toprovide a cam surface to coact with the cam surface 20. Thus it will berealized that as the sleeve 21 is turned with surface 23 engaging thesurface 2O and with the cable 16 located in socket 18, that the socket18 will be com pressed so as to tightly grip and retain the cable.

It will be noted that the culi' or sleeve 21 is tapered and increases indiameter in a direction away from the lingers 12.

The cull' 21 preferably has a free end portion or flange 24 extendingrearwardly beyond the socket 18 so that the free end of cable 16 may behoused and guided during attachment or detachment with respect to thesocket 18.

When the connecter is used, cable 16 is located within the socket 18 andthe sleeve or cuff 21 is then turned in the proper direction so that thecam surfaces 20 and 23 will socket 18 about the cable 16 and thustightly clamp or grip it. Thereafter, the connecter is manually moved toengage thev feed wire or cable A at the deiiected portions 15, afterwhich by a slight push of the connecter toward such wire, it will spreadthe lingers 12 and be received in the offset portions 14. Should strainoccur on cable 16, a short circuit occur in any of the wires or in themining machine or truck or trouble otherwise occur, a jerk on theconnecter or cable 16 will cause the lingers 12 to move out ofengagement with the wires. This result The cam shaped The insulation 17of 19 to enable complished by the Workman when many feet away from theconnecter, as is usually the ease, as Well as when the operator lisadjacent the feed Wire. It is also to be borne in mind that the fingersl2 grip the feed Wire to prevent movement longitudinally along the feedwire into engagement with another wire.

The form illustrated may be varied aecording to conditions and forinstance as illustrated in Figure 4. This form is the saine as theprecedingione except for the fingers. Here the lingers are designated25, being made of a single strip of suitably bent brass or otherresilient metal. These lingers are l.shaped so as to embrace a trolleyhanger nut B which is a conductor like wire A of the other form. Thefree ends Q6 of fingers 25 are outwardly deflected to facilitateengagement and disengagementI with respect. to nut B like the eoactionof parts 15 with Wire A.

lVe claim as our invention l. A branch wire connecter for electricconductors comprising a stem, an enlarged outwardly flared head on oneend of said stem and provided with a socket to receive the end of abranch wire, said head being split longitudinally, said stem beingthreaded intermediate its ends, a sleeve movabiy mounted on thev stemhaving a tapered opening to receive the head on the stem and a threadedportion engaging the threads on the stem, and means to secure the steinto a conductor wire.

2. A branch wire connecter for electric conductors comprising a steincircular in cross section, an outwardly flaring head on wone end of saidstem vprovided with a socket and split longitudinally, the stein at. thehase of said head provided with an enlarged threaded portion, a sleevemo *ably mounted. on the stem and having a bore to receive the stemoutwardly flared at one end to receive said head and threaded at thebaseof said outwardly flared portion to engage the threads on the stem, anda clamp on the end of the stem remote from the head aforesaid.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

l'SADORE FULTON. CHARLES A. BOUS'lluAD.

Witnesses j. REA,

